Personal Care Aides

social interests customer individual care service daily support ambulation meals housekeeping duty

Caregiver, Home Care Aide, Personal Care Aide, Personal Care Attendant (PCA)

What they do:
Provide personalized assistance to individuals with disabilities or illness who require help with personal care and activities of daily living support (e.g., feeding, bathing, dressing, grooming, toileting, and ambulation). May also provide help with tasks such as preparing meals, doing light housekeeping, and doing laundry. Work is performed in various settings depending on the needs of the care recipient and may include locations such as their home, place of work, out in the community, or at a daytime nonresidential facility.
On the job, you would:
  • Prepare and maintain records of client progress and services performed, reporting changes in client condition to manager or supervisor.
  • Administer bedside or personal care, such as ambulation or personal hygiene assistance.
  • Perform healthcare-related tasks, such as monitoring vital signs and medication, under the direction of registered nurses or physiotherapists.

Knowledge

Arts and Humanities

  • English language

Business

  • customer service

Transportation

  • movement of people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road

Education and Training

  • teaching and course design

Skills

Basic Skills

  • listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions
  • keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements

Social

  • looking for ways to help people
  • understanding people's reactions

Abilities

Verbal

  • communicate by speaking
  • listen and understand what people say

Ideas and Logic

  • notice when problems happen
  • use rules to solve problems

Personality

People interested in this work like activities that include helping people, teaching, and talking.

They do well at jobs that need:

  • Concern for Others
  • Cooperation
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Attention to Detail
  • Dependability
  • Initiative

Technology

You might use software like this on the job:

Medical software

  • MEDITECH software Hot Technology

Computer based training software

  • Appletree

Electronic mail software

  • Email software
  • Voltage SecureMail

Education

Education: (rated 2 of 5)
high school diploma/GED or
associate's degree
usually needed

Get started on your career:

Find Training
Find Licenses
Apprenticeship.gov

Job Outlook

Bright
New job opportunities are very likely in the future.
Local Salary Info
Find Jobs
See more details at O*NET OnLine about personal care aides.